Tag Archives: banana bread

I am quite the snuffalupagus this morning, I am pretty sure I have sneezed up a tornado. I think it may be appropriate to bring my own box of tissues to class. Whaddup, nasal decongestant!

I loved hearing all of your weird food stories and advice about college! In case you missed yesterday’s post, you can read it here. Long story short, I won an indoor triathlon and am choosing between two AMAZING colleges, and one that I am wait-listed to.

Finally it is sinking in that this is a decision that will determine my life path for the next four years. And possibly my life course for the rest of my life. Not going to lie, it’s a bit heavy but I am ready for it. No matter where I go, I know I will have a fun four years, at one more so than the others:) Sorority, here I come!

So what’s a girl to do with such a heavy decision on her shoulders? Um, eat.

Specifically, Banana Bread Cake.

That’s what happens when you’d rather have banana bread that looks like a slice of cake than a slice of bread. Chickayeahhhh 🙂

As a child, banana bread was my favorite thing that the Madre would make. It has a soft spot in my heart, and obviously I had to replace the sugar, eggs, and gluten with high-protein alternatives. You could basically eat this for dinner.

What, you don’t eat cake every day?

Because that’s just wrong. Make this, and have cake every day for the rest of your life.

Good morning chickadoodees! How are you on this fine Indulgence Friday morning?

I am dandylicious, mainly because I baked up a storm in my kitchen last night.

You see, my AP Bio teacher has been an amazing teacher all year, and someone who I’ve enjoyed talking to about the Padre, running, healthy food, almond butter, and nutrition.

To say the least, he basically rocks my socks. And through all of these hard times the past few months, he has taken tons of time to meet with me during my free periods and go over things from class that I didn’t understand, since many times it was not exactly easy to stay focused. (If you would like to know more about my last few months, you can read about them here.)

So, what better way to thank someone than to bake them some yummy deliciousness?

Um, I don’t really think there is.

Cookies are always the way to go.

Obviously I had to concoct something brand-spankin’-new. Which meant thinking of one of the most delicious combinations known to man, and creating it in moist, chewy cookie form.

I would call this one a “great success” (name that movie!).

These are moist, flavorful, and most of all, nutrition- and protein- packed. And as usual, they are gluten-free, vegan, and completely sugar-free. So basically dessert is okay any time of the day.

In a smaller bowl, mash one of your bananas until it is almost liquidy, and then add the extractives and 1/4 cup of non-dairy milk.

Add wet to dry, and mix thoroughly. Add more non-dairy milk as needed to make a cookie dough that is stirrable, not tough or stiff. You want your dough to be wet enough to spread itself into a cookie shape, but firm enough to hold its shape once plopped down.

Fold in your chopped chocolate. Peel your second banana and chop into small pieces. Fold into the cookie dough.

Something to Think:

Today in the locker room at my gym, I heard a woman with her daughter and remarked how blissful it is to be a child. She responded with, “Yeah, well I’m a slave!”. For a moment I thought she was joking, but she looked honestly upset. Are some parents actually resentful of their children? I know this is not something I have ever come across. Do any of you have some thoughts on this?

How are you celebrating Indulgence Friday?

Tell me about your yumssss!:)

What is your favorite cookie flavor?

Currently, this one. Banana bread in cookie form, plus chocolate. It does not get much better than that my friends.

How do you usually thank people?

I love baking because you get to lick the bowl and “taste test”

xoxox,

p.p.s. I just realized I sounded WAY more serious than usual today. Maybe it is because I am getting ready for college decisions to come my way? Lots of big life decisions are coming up in the next two weeks, and I am both excited and completely freaked out. Wish me luck love doves:)

Last night, I felt like going raw. So, I made a raw tomato soup and tabbouleh (bulgur isn’t exactly raw, but it was the only part that was cooked! 🙂 ). The soup has a little bit of a kick to it (from the garlic) which I really liked, and it was super refreshing. The tabbouleh was so good, and we kept going back for more! I made a giaaaaaant bowl that was totally full and we ate most of it. Go us!

Raw Tomato Soup

Serves 4

Ingredients:

6 tomatoes

4 stalks of celery

1 red bell pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

a large handful of basil

Directions:

Blend and serve immediately. Yum 🙂

Tabbouleh

Ingredients:

2 cups water

1 cup dry bulgur

1-2 cups halved grape tomatoes

1/2 green pepper, chopped

1 (15.5-oz.) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2 tbsp. lemon juice (this would also probably be good with a tablespoon or two of EVOO)

Directions:

Boil 2 cups of water in a medium saucepan with a pinch of sea salt. Once boiled, stir in the bulgur, then remove from heat and cover for 30 minutes (or until all the water is absorbed).

Fluff bulgur with a fork and combine with chopped vegetables and chickpeas. Pour in lemon juice and thoroughly combine.

Season with salt and pepper to taste (I prefer this dish naked) and serve!

We also had a few bananas lying around that were just a tad too ripe to eat, so I decided to whip up some banana bread for dessert! However, it’s the healthiest banana bread on earth since it contains no added sugar, artificial sweeteners, or refined carbohydrates so it’s perfect as a breakfast or pre-workout snack! You can find my recipehere. This time, I added a cup of raisins(a heaping cup I should say) and another heaping cup of walnuts. You can make it more dessert-y by adding in some vegan chocolate chips, cacao nibs, or even some unsweetened cacao powder! Yum 🙂

You can still see little chunks of bananers :)yum yum

We also happened to have a pineapple lying around. And two mangoes. And a watermelon….

Let’s just say I have a lot of fruit in my fridge.

In other news, I’m training for a 5K! It’s on September 5th, so I still have time to train. I have to get used to running outside, it’s always so humid! I got in two miles outside today, and tomorrow I’ll try to build my endurance. After that, I had to go inside for the rest of my workout…much too humid for my little lungs.

Do you have any advice for race training? Personal stories in running? Let me know! 🙂

That’s all for now! I observed a dietitian for 5 hours today, so I’ll recap on that later 🙂

Hi!

Chef Katelyn is a blog dedicated to the lifestyle of finding health, happiness, and inner peace through eating, exercising, and living well. I believe that what we put into our bodies, how we use them, and how we choose to enrich our lives directly effect our health mentally, physically, and emotionally. I hope you find some this balance with me while I continue my journey every day :)